AI improvement in Arma II from beginning to now

[datderecelltech 1]

Hello, I have been playing armed assualt for a very long time.

While I enjoy the game, one issue that greatly bothers me is the AI.

I am very impressed by the trailers for Arma II, but I've heard mixed reviews for the AI.

Can somebody please tell me the overall status of the AI in Arma II now? Thanks!

[Phantom Six 25]

The AI has greatly improved by the 1.60 Patch from Operation Arrowhead. Instead of going through walls, they actually go around obstacles this time was what I notice. They stop warping everywhere in multiplayer so it's much more stable more. They actually take some cover a bit more from the 1.60 patch. Overall, its pretty good. They're still pretty bad drivers though.

[jedra 11]

There's no doubt the AI is not perfect, but the last patch saw some massive improvements in their general abilities, as well as some 'improvements' in their accuracy (they are a bit ninja-sniper now!). Considering what the AI actually has to do in this game (i.e provide a credible human like behaviour in a sandbox environment) I actually think it is pretty bloody good.

[domokun 515]

I couldn't agree more with the chaps above.

Get OA, install the latest official patch (1.60) then install the latest beta patch as well as the ASR AI mod.

Just these 3 steps will bring you smart, quick and realistically accurate AI who automatically re-arm.

The general consensus was that Armed Assault was a rushed product whereas A2/OA were good but buggy.

Thanks to BI Studios unrelenting efforts and the community's constant feedback, OA has finally achieved satisfactory stability, performance and quality.

[JojoTheSlayer 35]

Overall the AI are better than at A2 launch. I would argue some AI mods out there are still better than vanilla, but AI in this game will never get to a human level.

Question is; Do you have to fight against AI? If it bothers you that much why not go for PvP... There are a few good PvP oriented communities out there.

The Arma Wargames tournament, the one I am in, is almost full, but there are still a few open slots for Sundays weekly PvP battles between two sides.

Join one of the two armies and fight to win. No AI, just real humans.

http://arma-wargames.com/forum/

[instagoat 133]

The AI can do the following, in vanilla:

Use leapfrogging when in combat. They cover each other upon movement, they seek out and actively use cover. They lean around corners, will sometimes use the interiors of buildings to get at the enemy. There is a rudimentary suppression mechanic: AI machinegunners will lay down suppressive fire at enemy positions on their own accord. Depending on the weapon it carries, AI behaves slightly differently according to the devs (though this is, in my opinion, hardly noticeable.). AI can by now use roads when travelling in convoys of up to four vehicles. Helicopters can spend longer than 30 seconds in combat without crashing into trees, but rarely last longer than five to eight minutes before digging themselves into the dirt. Attack planes are immensely dangerous to vehicles, as they rarely crash.

AI can identify killzones and will attempt to avoid them if possible. There is a rudimentary morale system: if morale drops too low from suppressive fire and/or casualties, AI will attempt to withdraw (though the leader will continue sending individual or couples of his underlings to their deaths even while withdrawing.)

AI commanders still command their subordinates to do individual or two-man charges at the enemy. AI still prefers running around to shooting. This is especially noticeable in such units as snipers and AT gunners, which rarely ever fire their weapons in combat due to being too busy with jogging to and fro.

Without Mods, AI -won´t- do the following: Arm themselves from bodies to face new threats, such as helicopters and tanks. They will not reliably use buildings for cover. They also will not use ammo stored in their own or teammate´s backpacks, and will only get new ammo when they are depleted if told so by a unit commander.

That´s a short summary of what the AI, right now, can or cannot do.

[metalcraze 290]

as well as some 'improvements' in their accuracy (they are a bit ninja-sniper now!).

Not ninja enough. MGs that try to hit the moon are still rage inducing too.

[enforcer1975 0]

With all the improvements an iNinja skills....nothing can beat the thrill of facing a living opponent :)

The AI is trying to use the right tactic ( which is supposed to be real world tactics ) to a situiation and has it's limits in adapting, so do some players... Sometimes i am surprised by the abilities of the AI but only because some mission builders have them spawn from a position behind me. They can still track you through a wall or even a house or two, just watched it yesterday where an AI ran into cover from one of my AI colleages where the latter was tracking the exact movements of him through a house as if he still had visual contact.

[maturin 12]

Make no mistake, most reviewers would say the same sorts of things about the AI now as they said back then. Despite the enormous progress that's been made. It's because they don't comprehend the limitations inherent in open-world, one-size-fits-all AI. They only have CoD to compare it to. Or maybe games like STALKER and Far Cry, where there are just bots that are designed to look good as they die.